on Sephiroth's manipulation of Cloud (an analysis)
— Rebirth + OG FF7 spoilers
how Rebirth tackled puppet Cloud is so unique and so so good, and I just needed to talk about it. first things first, let’s talk about what Sephiroth means by ‘puppet.’
throughout the OG FF7 and Rebirth, Sephiroth refers to Cloud as a ‘puppet.’ it may seem strange at first glance, because it seems to imply that Sephiroth is manually taking control of Cloud, puppeteering him or that Cloud is inherently empty.
it also doesn’t fit with his encouragement of Cloud’s rage. if Cloud is a puppet, why doesn’t Sephiroth just give him rage?
because that’s not what he means. when Sephiroth calls Cloud a puppet, he means that Cloud’s mind can easily be shaped, similar to how a puppet’s identity is dependent on its master.
because that’s not what he means. when Sephiroth calls Cloud a puppet, he means that Cloud’s mind can easily be shaped, similar to how a puppet’s identity is dependent on its master. he says that what Cloud feels is fake because Cloud’s mind is a collage of identities, his own and Zack’s, all with Jenova’s and Sephiroth’s influence. Cloud’s feelings are just his master’s feelings.
Cloud’s mind is malleable. he is his own person, the real Cloud Strife is there, but due to the self-esteem issues he’s harbored since childhood and the trauma he’s endured for the past five years, the presenting Cloud Strife can greatly differ. Sephiroth is intensely aware of this, and takes advantage of it.
the persona we see of Cloud is his SOLDIER persona, the tough badass he always wanted to be, a mixture of his interpretation of Zack and his interpretation of being a hero. but the facade cracks quickly and frequently, in either direction. mostly, it cracks to let us see the real Cloud. there’s no one single moment where he shines through: Cloud taking on odd jobs with no real gain other than him helping someone, Cloud doing something stupid and silly, Cloud getting flustered. all the moments of him being kind and dorky is the real Cloud shining through. it’s impossible for Cloud to bury all of himself beneath his persona, so these cracks are only natural. however, the other cracks in his persona are due to Sephiroth’s manipulation.
in Rebirth, Cloud kills multiple people on multiple occasions—one can argue because they were Shinra, they deserved it, but that doesn’t change the fact that Cloud isn’t a killer. even his SOLDIER persona accommodates his desire to help people; so how does he kill people so easily? if you answered Sephiroth, you get a prize!
Sephiroth manipulates his SOLDIER persona in two ways: feeding into ideals and planting ideas. for the first, he (off-screen) encourages violent and/or anti-social behavior in Cloud. while we, the player, and everyone around him views this as strange, in Cloud’s mind, it all fits into what he’s supposed to be. he’s supposed to be a badass, and badasses kill people and dismiss their friends’ feelings, right?
when Cloud is in this mental state, it’s very hard to reason with him. in Chapter 13 (one of the greatest pieces of puppet Cloud literature), Cloud’s entire goal is to reach the center of the Temple in order to acquire the Black Materia. he doesn’t listen to any warnings that the Cetra give or his teammates, becoming wholly focused on retrieving it. but even then, even if Cloud’s behavior doesn’t seem strange to him, why does he want the Black Materia?
that’s due to Sephiroth’s other form of manipulation: planting ideas. it’s easy to force Cloud to become violent because it fits the narrative of badass SOLDIER, but lots of other ideas need time to nourish. case-in-point: Tifa isn’t the real one.
we are introduced to this idea at the very beginning of the game, Cloud walking through the inn at Kalm when he sees Sephiroth who tells him that this Tifa isn’t the real one. the conflict seems to become resolved when Cloud repeats the idea to Tifa who completely dismisses it, but they’re nowhere out of the woods.
next, Sephiroth in Chapter 5 instills the idea that Jenova is capable of impersonation. this doesn’t seem to go anywhere until Chapter 9.
first, Cloud enters that intensified SOLDIER state-of-mind, killing all the Shinra troopers around him. with his mind already fragile, Sephiroth repeating the idea to him now becomes fact: Tifa isn’t real. she is an imposter from Jenova. both the ideas Cloud’s been fed are twisted and he pushes Tifa off the edge.
Cloud snaps out of this state of mind right after, but it doesn’t change the fact that it happened. as long as Sephiroth plays his cards right, he can manipulate Cloud into doing nearly everything for him. hence, the ‘puppet’ label.
(that’s also why Cloud wants the Black Materia. Sephiroth tells Cloud to bring him the Black Materia—and even if Cloud doesn’t want to, the thought is engraved in his head that he should retrieve it for Sephiroth.)
but here’s what’s really special. as we’ve noted, the intensified SOLDIER persona is violent, anti-social, just an all around dick. he doesn’t care about his friends, doesn’t care about anything except getting what he wants (see: what Sephiroth wants.)
but we see something very different at the end of Chapter 13. Cloud isn’t rude and dismissive. he pushes Tifa, but he doesn't do it with the same malice as in Chapter 9. he does it in an attempt just to get her away, just to chase after the Black Materia.
in his pursuit of Aerith, the things he says are the farthest thing from rude. he’s not threatening or demanding her to stop. he’s asking her to talk, appealing to her desire to trust him and save the planet, even starts calling her name in a teasing way like he’s playing a game.
Aerith!
Let's talk.
I need it...
Aerith...
Give it to me.
Please?
You can trust me.
Let's save the planet together.
(playfully) Aerith.
when Aerith finally gives him the Black Materia, what does Cloud do? he could just walk away. he could just run straight to Sephiroth. but, no—he makes sure to say “thank you” first.
it’s pathetic (I type this in the most endearing way) the way Cloud acts. why is that? what is the difference between these types of manipulation? the answer is who Sephiroth manipulates. for the most part, Sephiroth manipulates SOLDIER Cloud. but here, Sephiroth breaks through Cloud’s SOLDIER persona to manipulate the real Cloud.
we know when we see the real Cloud: if you need a refresher, anytime Cloud is kind or acts like a dork is usually a tell-tale sign. here, Cloud is kind, saying please and thank you. and it’s almost cute, the way he playfully calls out to Aerith. this is the real Cloud, buried under piles of piles of trauma, self-hatred, and alternative personas.
and what is the real Cloud’s utmost desire? to love and be loved. he wants to be a hero, to be worthy of the ones he holds dear; no, to be worthy of anyone. this is a big factor into Cloud’s construction of his SOLDIER persona, he creates himself that hero mask that he thinks will lead to the love he craves.
Sephiroth knows this, and twists his desire to be a hero to a desire to please Sephiroth at all costs. Cloud is still himself, but he wants to make Sephiroth happy no matter what. Sephiroth wants the Black Materia? then Sephiroth will get the Black Materia.
that’s what’s so heartbreaking (and deliciously good) about Rebirth’s depiction of puppet Cloud. he’s not hollow and empty. he’s desperate. this is the most of the real Cloud we get to see. we see fragments of him, but here is the longest consecutive period. this is the realest he acts in the game, kind and silly and so fucking desperate for love, for Sephiroth’s approval.
in short, Sephiroth knows exactly how and when to break Cloud. he knows how and when to manipulate SOLDIER Cloud and he knows how and when to manipulate the real Cloud. this is why Sephiroth calls him a puppet: as long as he plays to Cloud’s desire for approval and love, he can puppeteer him in every direction.
thank you for reading! I hope you learned something new or just understand Cloud better. Cloud is such a fascinating character and Sephiroth really brings out the most pathetic parts of him ❤️ here's to hoping Cloud gets all the love he wants
I think that more fanfiction should be written with the aim to tackle the original meaning of hanahaki. Because when the concept of hanahaki disease was originally created, it was intended to be a metaphor for suppressing one’s feelings.
Your feelings are this beautiful garden of flora inside of your chest. When you express how you feel honestly, you allow for it to grow freely. But when you hide how you feel out of fear of rejection, and try to make it smaller and smaller, the flowers become cramped inside of you, until you choke on your own feelings. Every flower you cough up is something you’ve felt, but refused to say.
The whole “dying” thing is intended to be more symbolic especially. You’re killing off bits and pieces of yourself and how you feel, because you’re afraid to express yourself.
It’s not really supposed to be, “The one I love doesn’t love me back, and I’m dying from it.” Rather, it’s more along the lines of, “Repressing your emotions is bad for you, and it’s better and healthier to express them freely, even when it’s scary.”
Which is to say that, one, the cure for the disease should be telling the person that you are in love with how you feel. How the other person feels about the person afflicted should have nothing to do with it, as the trope is meant to be about feeling your emotions unapologetically.
And that, two, it’s not an inherently romantic trope. Obviously, it has romantic applications, but it can be written for any situation where a character is hiding how they truly feel. This can include a refusal to address a specific trauma, a desire to indulge in something that they’re ashamed of, and even really practical things, like wanting to ask one’s boss for a higher position.
Although (as an aromantic person myself) I don’t agree with this conclusion about the trope, this application would also avoid people calling it arophobic. When the thing killing the character is a refusal to be honest with themselves, rather than an unrequited love, it’s on nobody’s hands but their own to save their life.
There are a ton of ways that this interpretation of the hanahaki disease could be applied in new and interesting ways in fanfiction, and I’d love to read what things people could come up with!
Saiyuki Reload Blast Drama CD 1 – Track 1: At the gym
https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm33443983
Summary: The Ikkou went to a gym. Sanzo tried an exercise for toning the waist. Hakkai received the shock of his life. Satisfactory endings for Goku and (surprise, surprise) Gojyo.
——–
Goku: Wow, it’s incredibly roomy in here!
Gojyo: Oh, this place is sure fancy. I wish I were staying in such a hotel with a pretty lady instead of a bunch of guys….
Goku: What’s that thing on the ceiling? Er, ci–cin– cinderella?
I'm aware that it is because the people I normally trap in my bubbles aren't into the series so there's just this 2nd hand affection for it for them but I am still, still, not over, in a very real, visceral way, the framing of Hakkai's declaration against Sanzo's, and how it's not just a character snapshot but also of the relationship itself, and how it perfectly just --
Sanzo's devotion in a promise to preserve the identity and memory of Goku as-he-is and not as-he-could-be, by ending his life before that concept could change
Hakkai's devotion in a promise that even as ugly or monstrous or changed Gojyo could ever become, he won't leave his side, no matter the cost (even if that cost might be Sanzo).
Sanzo setting himself up specifically to be left behind again if it means what leaves him behind is the Goku he knows.
Hakkai willing to relinquish his humanity entirely again to protect Gojyo, if that's what it takes to do so. That there is no sin he could commit greater than failing another person he loves.
The depth of love in both tacks! The depth of care and trust and devotion!
The immediacy; no hesitation or negotiation or considering what should be done! Both Sanzo and Hakkai immediately choose the "selfish" option, but their self-centered option is entirely built upon how they love the other two, and not even really them.
They believe their best interest is to destroy themselves again to ensure their partners never suffer their own shattering points again.
Drama CD Saiyuki Memorial Pack Disk 1 – Track 1: Making a Side Trip
最遊記 寄り道 寄り道はいいけど…悟浄初期からついてないな…
Download link to the complete album (kindly provided by @seiten-taisei)
Summary: Gojyo wanted to stop by the town he and Hakkai used to live in. Hakkai told him why that was not a good idea.
This is also an omake drama from the first Saiyuki Drama CD, Go to the West (1999). Probably the classic that set the trend of ending with Gojyo shouting in panic or frustration.
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Goku: After all is said and done, travel is best done in Jeep. It’s so comfy here!
Hakkai: More so than anything else, it’s good to know you’re pleased.
Goku: By the way, how long will it take until we arrive at the next town?
Sanzo: Around five to six hours.
Goku: Eh, that long? I’m hungry again, though....
Sanzo: Put up with it.
Goku: No way!
Sanzo: I’ll feed you the paper fan then.
Goku: I’m hungry....
Sanzo: Be quiet.
Goku: I’m hungry, I’m hungry, I’m hungry!
Sanzo: You’re annoying!
Gojyo: There’s a town much closer around here. It shouldn’t take us that long to reach it.
Goku: Eh, really?
Sanzo: Stop butting in, Gojyo.
Goku: Hey, where’s it?
Gojyo: It’s the town Hakkai and I used to live in. We should be able to get there between one and two hours.
Sanzo: Forget it. It’s in a completely different direction from our route.
Goku: Why not? It’s for just a bit!
Gojyo: Actually, I’ve got some unfinished business to tend to in that town as well.
Goku: Unfinished business? What’s that?
Gojyo: Hmmph. For a man like me, there’s always one thing and another.
Goku: What are you acting self-important for?
Gojyo: It’s not something a kid like you would understand.
Hakkai: Ah, I see!
Goku: What is it?
Hakkai: It’s stuff you need to prepare for our journey, isn’t it? Things such as a change of clothes, spare underwear, toothbrushes and toothpastes.
Gojyo: Hah?
Hakkai: Please put your mind at ease. Having accounted for such a contingency, I’ve prepared everything in advance before we set out on our journey. They’re all packed in the chest at the back.
Goku: Oh, so it’s just that sort of stuff.
Gojyo: Are you an idiot? It’s not that sort of stuff!
Goku: Then, what is it?
Gojyo: What did I say just now? It’s not stuff a kid like you would understand.
Goku: Yeah.
Gojyo: Try and take a guess from there.
Goku: Eh? Let me see.... Ah, that’s it. I know what it is!
Gojyo: Do you?
Goku: That unfinished business of yours – it’s a homework assignment, isn’t it?
Gojyo: Come on....
Goku: Was I mistaken?
Gojyo: Jeez! It’s the matters of the heart. The sort that has to do with ladies, okay?
Goku: Ladies?
Gojyo: Yep. There are many pretty ladies who’ve fallen in love with me in that town. I owe them all a good-bye hug.
Goku: Oh, it’s just that kind of thing.
Gojyo: What did you mean by ‘just that kind of thing?’
Sanzo: Goku has a point.
Gojyo: Sanzo!
Sanzo: Do you understand what we’re attempting to do from now on?
Gojyo: We’re traveling to the west in order to stop Gyumaoh’s resurrection, aren’t we?
Sanzo: I’ll say it again: This is an important journey. The future of Tougenkyou depends upon its outcome. We can’t afford the leisure to make a side trip.
Gojyo: Heh! Isn’t this just an unpopular guy’s warped view of our situation?
Sanzo: What did you just say?
Gojyo: Well, I can imagine why no woman would want to come near someone with droopy eyes and a gloomy face like yours.
Sanzo: Try and say it one more time. (cocks his gun)
Hakkai: Please stop waving your gun while we're driving, Sanzo.
Sanzo: It’d be a waste of bullets.
Gojyo (snorts): Droopy eyes–
(He is interrupted by several gunshots.)
Gojyo: You goddamn idiot! You really went and pulled the trigger!
Sanzo: Sorry, my trigger finger slipped.
Gojyo: I thought I’d die.
Goku: That’s my line! The bullets were flying toward me too.
Gojyo: Shut your trap, stupid monkey!
Goku: You just called me stupid monkey again, perverted kappa!
Gojyo: I’ll call you names as many times as I wish! Stupid monkey, midget monkey, brat monkey!
Goku: What? Pervy dirty horny kappa!
Sanzo: You guys are noisy! (shoots a few times again)
Gojyo and Goku: We’ll be quiet.
Hakkai: Oh? It's all gone very quiet at the back.
Sanzo: The noise has gone away. I’m going to take a nap. Don’t wake me up.
Gojyo and Goku: Okey dokey.
Hakkai: Rest well, Sanzo.
Gojyo: Is he asleep already?
Goku: He seems to be.
Hakkai: He falls asleep as easily as Nobita. [Nobita Nobi from Doraemon.]
Gojyo: He looks cute when asleep, though.
Hakkai: He’ll kill you if he hears that, Gojyo.
Gojyo: I said that precisely because he can’t hear me. Hold on, isn’t this is just the right time? Hey, Hakkai!
Hakkai: What is it?
Gojyo: Here’s the opportunity to return to the town we used to live in. Let’s seize it while we still can.
Hakkai: Eh? But–
Gojyo: It’ll be fine. Just do it.
Goku: Yay! Food, food!
Hakkai: But, is it really okay to do that?
Gojyo: I said it’ll be fine, didn’t I? If you’re worried about the guy next to you, I’ll take care of him afterward one way or another.
Hakkai: It’s not Sanzo I’m worried about. It’s you, Gojyo. Will it really be okay for you to go back to that town?
Gojyo: Eh? Why shouldn’t I go back to the town?
Hakkai: Why, you ask. The reasons are too many to count.
Gojyo: What reasons?
Hakkai: First of all, there’s the town’s gambling house. You accumulated quite a lot of debts from your losses there, didn’t you? If you go back, they’ll spare no effort to collect those debts from you.
Gojyo: Heh. That’s nothing I can’t handle.
Hakkai: And then, there’s the chairman of the neighborhood association. He was quite annoyed with you, you know.
Gojyo: The neighborhood association?
Hakkai: Yes. You were on duty for taking out the trash for some time, weren’t you? I heard from the chairman that you mixed up the burnable trash and the non-burnable trash. The chairman was pretty upset, you know. He said no matter how many times he cautioned you, you turned a deaf ear to his words.
Gojyo: Heh. What an annoying geezer.
Hakkai: Therefore, he said from then on, he’d let his wife caution you instead.
Gojyo: W–what did you just say? That hag?
Hakkai: Yes.
Gojyo: That old woman.... if things don’t go well, she’ll show you a face that is more scary than the youkai we just fought off today.
Hakkai: Let me see, and then there’s–
Gojyo: There’s still more?
Hakkai: Among the ladies you wish to give a farewell embrace to, there are a few whose enmity you’ve incurred....
Gojyo: And how have I done that?
Hakkai: You were two-timing Miss Min-min and Miss Rei-rin, weren’t you?
Gojyo: How did you find out about that?
Hakkai: Furthermore, you mixed up your presents to Miss Tin-Pei and Miss Shu-shin.
(Gojyo whistles innocently.)
Hakkai: Also, Miss Rin-rin and Miss Ran-ran–
Gojyo: Ah! That’s enough!
Goku: What’s with you, Gojyo? Playboy kappa!
Gojyo (coughs): Well, er, urm.... Yes, that’s it! We’re on a very important mission to save the world, right? Yes, indeed we don’t have the leisure to do things like making a side trip.
Hakkai: Then, you’re fine with not going back.
Gojyo: Yeah! Straight ahead to the west it is then! Onward to India!
Sanzo: Wait. I’ve changed my mind.
Gojyo, Goku and Hakkai: Sanzo!
Sanzo: Shall we make a stop at the town you two used to live in?
Gojyo: Y–yay, Sanzo-chan. Why the change of mind?
Sanzo: I want to see you squirm.
Gojyo: You bastard! You heard everything we said just now, didn’t you?
Hakkai: You were just pretending to be asleep, weren’t you? Truly, that’s a nice personality you have there.
Sanzo: At any rate, Hakkai, it’s fine to go back to that town, okay?
Hakkai: All right!
Gojyo: H–hold on!
Sanzo: Isn’t that great, Goku? You’ll get to eat.
Goku: Hooray! Food, food!
Gojyo: You really play dirty, you bastard.
Sanzo: Hah. Shut up.
Gojyo: You’re a villain with a warped mind!
Goku: You were the one who said you wanted to go back to the town, Gojyo. A man should never go back on his word.
Gojyo: Be quiet! I don’t want to be preached at by a brat of a monkey or a sly fox of a monk!
Sanzo: Sly fox.... (shoots several times)
Gojyo: Aaargh! Let go of me! Turn Jeep around! Damn it!
(Jeep’s engine continues to roar amidst more gunshots.)
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(Round brackets): actions and sound effects. [Square brackets]: translator’s notes. Double asterisks **: Stuff I am not sure with. Suggestions for improvements and corrections are more than welcome.
one of the hardest parts (for me) about writing Noctis being angry is that he really, really tries not to show it. he deflects, he dodges, he defuses, and if none of those work, he just. walks away.
in canon, we see him get really, truly furious just three times, twice on the train through Niflheim and once in the mine at Cartanica.
first, his fight with Gladio. despite being so incensed that he actually does get briefly physical (grabbing Gladio by the jacket after Gladio has already grabbed him), he spends the whole fight verbally agreeing with Gladio, saying things like “I get it” and “I’m here, aren’t I?” and “you think I don’t know that?”. when he can’t agree, he tries to shut down the argument and get away - “shut up”, “let me go”. when Gladio pushes him to a point where Noctis can verbally neither agree nor shut down the fight, Noct simply storms off without saying anything further.
second, in the Cartanica mine. Noctis says very little in the combat dialogues; when he does speak, he immediately backs down from any challenges by the others. throughout the quest to move the mining equipment, even when Gladio is bossing him around, nagging him, etc, Noctis only ever agrees with him (albeit with noticeable sarcasm sometimes). even at the end of the mine quest, when Ignis is lecturing him, Noctis says nothing at all - even when Gladio angrily prods him for a reaction. the only time Noctis lets his anger show is if the player selects the “show frustration” option in the dialogue with Gladio right before facing the malboro. Noctis says “As if I have a choice! You think I like the idea of people sacrificing themselves for me, one after the other?” - which, even there, he’s agreeing with Gladio’s original question (“can you see this through to the end?”). he’s just also letting a hint of his anger at the situation bleed through.
third, when Noct confronts “Ardyn” (actually Prompto under Ardyn’s illusion). this is the only time Noctis actually lashes out in anger, turning his fury on the other person instead of inwards to himself. given that the person he (thinks he) is fighting is a representative of the country that has brutalized and destroyed Noctis’s own country, as well as the man who killed Lunafreya, it’s not surprising that Noctis finally allows himself to express all the rage he’s been carrying around since… honestly probably since the Marilith attack or the sacking of Tenebrae. but that’s still the only time Noctis allows himself to really show his rage, even against Ardyn. by the ending battle in the ruins of Insomnia, Noctis is fierce and resolved, but no longer furious.
it’s satisfying as shit to write him actually letting some of that rage loose - like in the Drautos fight in What Stays - but it’s really fucking hard to write him having a fight under pretty much any other circumstances. it’s clear he has a ton of anger burning him up from the inside, but he’s the crown prince, and then king. royals don’t get to be angry. :(
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